It is old to provide a blowout preventer control system as indicated at pages 82-86 of the 1980-81 General Catalog of Koomey, Inc. in which accumulators provide hydraulic fluid for actuating various blowout preventer functions such as the pipe rams, flow line, kill line, choke line and annular BOP. The various control functions are controlled by hydraulic valves which in turn are controlled by suitable electric, air or hydraulic valves. And while various position and status measurements are observable, they are of a transitory nature which only provide an indication of the status or operation of the blowout control system at the current time.
The present system provides a tangible record showing every event or change in the blowout control system and when it occurred. This is especially important should an accident or emergency condition occur. A drilling operator will be able to use the records to evaluate past actions taken by the personnel and plan where action should be taken during an emergency. Furthermore, the record can be used for training less experienced operators.
Furthermore, electrical control and information gathering lines are undesirable when utilized in the hazardous environment of an oil and/or gas drilling rig since electrical sparks which might occur if the cable is damaged might ignite hazardous gases. Electrical control and information lines are also adversely affected by electrical noises or radio frequency interference. Another feature of the present invention is the use of fiber optics for transmitting the signals required in the control system to eliminate these problems.